Link Centre Dictionary

fake

UK/feɪ̯k/ US/ˈfeɪk/ common
adjective (2) noun (3) verb (3)

adjective

1.
2.

not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article

  • “it isn”
  • “s real synthetic fur”
  • “faux pearls”
  • “false teeth”
  • “decorated with imitation palm leaves”
  • “a purse of simulated alligator hide”
Synonyms
Similar

noun

1.

something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be

Synonyms
2.
3.

(football) a deceptive move made by a football player

Synonyms

verb

1.

make a copy of with the intent to deceive

  • “he faked the signature”
  • “they counterfeited dollar bills”
  • “She forged a Green Card”
Synonyms
2.

fake or falsify

  • “Fudge the figures”
  • “cook the books”
  • “falsify the data”
Synonyms
3.

talk through one''s hat

  • “The politician was not well prepared for the debate and faked it”
Synonyms

Origin

The origin is not known with certainty, although first attested in 1775 C.E. in British criminals' slang. It is probably from feak, feague (“to give a better appearance through artificial means, spruce up, embellish”), itself from German Low German fegen, from Middle Low German vēgen, from Old Saxon fegōn, from Proto-West Germanic *fegōn (“to clean up, polish”). Akin to Dutch veeg (“a swipe”), Dutch vegen (“to sweep, wipe”); German fegen (“to sweep, to polish”). Compare also Old English fācn (“deceit, fraud”). Perhaps related also to Old Norse fjúka (“to fade, vanquish, disappear”), Old Norse feikn (“strange, scary, unnatural”).

Phrases

  • cheap fake
  • fake and gay
  • fake bad
  • fake book
  • fake fan
  • fake geek girl
  • fake good
  • fake it
  • fake it till one makes it
  • fake it until one makes it
  • fake news
  • fake out

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.